by Paul Matheson

Wayfaring Stranger

Andreas Scholl (countertenor)

Decca 468 499-2

I sometimes imagine what it might be like to meet an angel. Would the voice of an angel sound like singing? I believe it would. And I imagine the voice of, say, the Archangel Gabriel as being countertenor or alto in register. When I first heard Andreas Scholl singing, I recognised instantly that that purity and immaculate sweetness of expression was how I expected an angel to sound.

Paul Matheson is a policy advisor on equality, human rights and standards in public life.